syrian rebels threaten to kill forty eight iranian hostages they kidnapped on saturday if the assad regime doesn't stop it shelling. spain's government faces the flak for cracking down on the scent after it's accused of sacking journalists who question the country's mounting cuts in tax hikes. and deadly terrorist strikes in russia's republic of chechnya with suicide bombers attacking an army checkpoint what a car bombing claims more lives. online on screen international news and comment live from the new center here in moscow

syrian rebels have threatened to kill iranian pilgrims they kidnapped over the weekend unless government forces stop their shelling the opposition fighters claim three of the forty eight captured have already died in continued shooting video recently aired by the news channel reportedly shows that prisoners surrounded by gun rebels claim the captives were members of the elite iranian revolutionary guard meanwhile in how the developments damascus claims the syrian prime minister who's fled to jordan has been sacked it's thought he's not the only recent defection from assad's elite although he is the first from his cabinet this is the army and rebels gear up for a major battle in aleppo with heavy casualties reported on both sides retracing to plug the gaps with new recruits and while some conscripts say they're ready to die for the cause others are trying to dodge the draft as a boy to report. on the outskirts of damascus pa government paramilitary also known as should be her camp out in what used to be very modest

a local man who say they quit their regular jobs to defend their homeland is twenty nine prior to the uprising he worked as a t.v. technician. and his passion for the small screen is still there while watching this i five blockbuster armageddon scenes of bruce willis saving the planet got him talking these movies always show americans defending ones that don't belong to them even their own land was the property of indians now they are fighting all around the world so how come you deny our right to defend our own land the opposition accuses the shabby her of conducting massacres but this man say they've themselves are often targeted by the rebels some even adopted newcomer flush to avoid being identified with the armistice reliance on the prior military has a tactical advantage they know the area but it's also out of necessity as the death toll among troops rises more syrians are dodging the draft military service in

syria is a year and a half but those for over eighteen and i not only stands university students can delay or shorten their terms while those with how they should be exempted on medical grounds in the past drop doctors could also attempt to bribe officials to get the names of the list but the controls got much tighter the base going abroad is the only legal option to avoid getting called out that's what amr is now considering six young men from his down recently returned home in coffins and he says for the sake of his family he can't risk being the next before the courses. the court all me to go boy duty to the home. but after they're. not. to me they really. love the us so. the army. the extent of

draft dodging is hard to gauge since the syrian government does not comment on its military but in the country's hospitals the reasons for avoiding active duty is all too graphic sammy who is also twenty six was conscripted from hama half a year ago while his one will take at least three months to heal he says he doesn't regret joining the army. it's normal that parents would be worried about sending their sons to the army. times like this some of my friends advised me not to go on the contrary wanted me to join the army at the end my parents said i should do it to have this cleared so that i could go on with my own life the syrian army sometimes pro-trade as a killing machine many of its members are just and our early twenty's and if anything they're to honor the victims of a war their country has been dragged into the boycott artsy reporting from syria. still have you this hour the legacy of disorder

a year after losing on the streets residents in this summer's olympic capital onshore the violence still won't make a comeback. and the trial of the female punk group pussy riot has entered its second week in moscow the tree an accused of hooliganism in russia's main cathedral are faced cross-examination and awaiting their fate. spain's right wing government has been accused of silencing any dissent that's after a number of journalists were sacked for reportedly failing to toe the party line over sweeping cuts being piled on the people in return for an e.u. bank bailout debate show host publicly as yesterday and says democracy is now being sacrificed in his country. never in the spanish history of public to look after the franco to a dealership the government control of the television or radio washouts is strong now a days and in my opinion the. democracy probably the best question to satirize

the political situation in spain is lack of democracy the government nice in the hands of banks and markets and a little amusing is going to be the new steel like the joshua mobile i think that you're not criticize him he's the second you some of them are grossly in on the race and this time in a spain probably the business press into the fine this style of the spanish government they've got to the public television and the public radio. but anyone who doesn't understand the media as a public right to see this and right of information by the government of public television and public radio yes political weapon before the arrival of my own record to the government it was necessary at least a consensus between the main political parties represented in the parliament and the trade unions and even ordered it constantly without any and even team didn't station country of the public radio and public to let me send us unfortunately they were men of the whole you to change the law and now decorum and to control the

absolute control of television results in a game of green with all their ideas and the trade union. it's the olympic summer spectacle that comes to mind first when london is mentioned this august but a year ago blazing fires and rampant looting were in place of the banners and olympic rings on the city's streets police were unable to bring the situation under control for almost a week auntie's nor smith looks at what lessons the u.k. has learned. rioting and looting disorder these were the explosive scenes on the streets in towns and cities in england last august shops and warehouses attacked and taught by out of control youth and adults alike a situation the police took days to bring on to control a year on and on the surface all is well damaged buildings have been rebuilt or boarded up and people are going about their business again but dig

a little deeper and areas like here in tottenham where the riots started are still troubles and the underlying issues which caused the riots remain unresolved tottenham's and peace as his community pulled together in the aftermath but admits trouble could break out again unemployment is up and it's also true to say that business is on the highroad are still struggling a many of them had very poor pavements under the right damages act that was made to assist them in a double dip recession that hits the poorest communities hardest so you know it's one of those situations where yes we must be positive and hopeful but it's a fragile a fragile situation for us here in the last year numerous studies have been conducted into why the unrest became so intense and so widespread what began with anger over the fatal shooting by police of tottenham man mark duggan became a spark that ignited a powder keg of disadvantage boredom and

a dysfunctional relationship with the police something social justice campaign. elite just says has not been addressed but employment is going up generally going up in the country we're seeing closure after closure of use facilities and services school services are being caught and i think all of that with more aggressive what is called policing which we shall monsters zero tolerance policing means that takes only a matter of time and not so much if but when in the aftermath of the violence communities banded together to clear up their streets but many accuse the government not only of ignoring the root causes but of making problems worse for working class families oxfam says the poorest ten percent of society will suffer thirteen times more from by seeing austerity cuts than the richest tenth and fifty

six percent of young black men in britain are unemployed people in riot hit hackney like to think it won't happen again but are aware that it could be long. till. people. can give something you. keep them busy. going to get work somehow believe me it will take many to trust the work situation and they kick people off the benefit well. i'm back on the force. i don't know about it happening again quite the same way but i don't think anything's going to just going it's very well for these people the fuse is still a light the fear is when and what will trigger the next explosion in their neighborhoods laura smith r.t. london. well you can also follow up on the stories on our website r.t. dot com in addition to what you see here on screen we've got plenty more for you

there including reports surfacing of a top secret u.s. israeli treaty to attack iran not online whether there are any grounds to these room. rainbow flags have been streaming through the streets of vietnam's capital for the first time in the country's history as it hosts its inaugural parade. israel has found the bodies of a gunman who attacked a security checkpoint on the border with egypt the heavily armed assault had left at least sixteen egyptian gods killed on the government trying to cross the border israel responded with. both sides blame the attack on islamist militants have been increasing their activity in recent months gentlemen. that both israel and egypt need to cooperate to counter their common enemies that the attack was first of all . tensions between israel and egypt i think that's going to be. the attackers ahead of mine and second of all we have to remember that these organizations believe that

violence. and justifies all means that even the act itself as an ideological goal to. their religion as they. responsible decision makers in egypt should be trying to increase cooperation with israel in order to ensure that these kind of homicide terrorists are not able to carry out their plans so perhaps the unity of. the countries closer together the islamists and especially did you have is that we're talking about now have been for years. and now what they're doing is taking advantage of the fact that there is an unstable situation in egypt but if you just listen as we've seen now across the region egypt syria i mean all the other countries north africa then what we're going to see is chaos and that is what we're seeing unfortunately across the entire region. that the terror attacks have hit russia the volatile republic of chechnya a suicide strike on the checkpoint killed four soldiers in the capital grozny want

to separate car bomb killed three. investigators say they found the bomb belt of a suicide bomber who attacked a checkpoint in grozny the capital of russia's chechen republic there were two explosions reported at that checkpoint they killed four soldiers though that figure may include the dead bomber in another incident a military vehicle on its way into the city was blown up by a device placed underneath it that killed three soldiers and wounded three others in russia's north caucasus region there have been numerous gun bomb attacks of this kind in the past months. well still to come here in r t forging the path to life on the red planet the most high tech rover ever build touches down and begin sending back images from its mission to explore the martian surface to support life and

become a new place to live we report in a few moments. but first the gulf arab nations are seeking closer ties as the foreign ministers of the six states are set to talk integration next month saudi arabia and bahrain which have seen popular uprisings for the past year and a half have been at the forefront of pushing for gulf cooperation protesters are calling for an end to what they say is discrimination by the sunni monna keys which have been stepping up their crackdowns in bahrain dozens of demonstrators were injured and arrested last week after security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at the activists are also demanding the release of political prisoners and i mean my colleague kevin and talk to human rights activist. who asked us not to reveal her location she explains the hardships of her plight in the face of the hypocrisy of the international community. my father still recovering from her as long hunger strike that he staged a few months ago and he has this ongoing appeal in a sham trial and behind him because of course i'm behind we don't have an

independent or adjust the judiciary system by this though there are still two nights ago during the self-determination. she was staging a one person protest inside around the bow talking about you and your sister how much danger is there now for activists in your country is that a fair representation the place for activists and behind today seems to be prison we have a whole agenda village up we're both very prominent human rights defender not just them for them but in the region and then also as in have a holiday now all in prison and so it does seem like it doesn't know how to deal with human rights defenders and does you as a threat to the regime in the country to julian assange on his interview show. this channel criticize the u.s. for backing the rules in the gulf state i've got a quote twelve years if you let me he said it's very clear that the united states democracy and human rights are only applied in countries which they have problems with not with dictatorships that they have good relations with how do you view that

assessment well i think that's very true i mean we're seeing that in many different examples with the double standards that are being practiced i mean you don't see the same response to the situation in yemen for example the way you do in other countries like for example syria unfortunately it does seem that you know supporting human rights comes in the form of interests they support human rights when it's in their interest to do so and then they will not support human rights when it's not in their interest rates what i was going to tell you to go over most of you think well i think it's mostly going to be a situation where we need to raise awareness amongst people in those countries you know the difference between the worst and a lot of our countries is that the vote actually does have a known fluence in some situations and so if we can get people in the united kingdom in the united states and other countries to actually tell their government that we're not happy that you support a regime that is committing widespread human rights violations you know and we will vote for you again if you continue to do so then maybe we will see

a change. here in moscow on the sixth day of the trial of the female punk band pussy riot the trio have been facing cross examination with public opinion over the controversial case divided the question on everyone's lips is just what the verdict will be peter oliver reports. it's the trial that's gripped global attention three members of the punk rock collective pussy riot are accused of hooliganism after taking part in an anti putin protest inside moscow's main cathedral the demonstration dubbed a punk rock prayer to rid russia of blood a mere hooten to media focus around the world now the three women in the dock face up to seven years in jail. but i would like to reiterate our stance which we have expressed from the very start of our defendants did not perpetrate a criminal offense and therefore any verdict of court say for an acquittal will be unlawful. the group of being called political prisoners by human rights groups and

media outlets donning support for many within the music industry sting no more and the red hot chili peppers of all call for the women to be set free but groups associated with the russian orthodox church were outraged by the demonstration and called for the harshest penalties available however those who defend the women say the protest wasn't born out of any religious hatred. this acts obviously had political character which just went side by side with other such political acts the didn't stand out so the attempt to proclaim what has happened as abusive actions motivated by religious hatred is ridiculous also got its. political character and the search for the shocking is clearly visible when you look at what the group of done previously pussy riot have continuously courted controversy past stunts have included inviting the media to an orgy in a museum and one member performing a sex act with a frozen chicken in a supermarket because the performance though we. a step too far for many in

a nation where the majority of people orthodox kristie in search of a foremans in the country's main cathedral saw some accusing the group of blasphemy however some of russia's most ardent anti government activists who agree the women took things too far also said they shouldn't be punished too harshly and in other examples they don't deserve it by the way i strongly disapprove of their act i'm old enough to be their dad so i would just spank them properly and let them off and now when they face up to seven years of prison this is going to far afield the call for clemency was repeated by president putin the man who was the target of the protest you have a gift for but i hope the court will rule with a just decision if the bonds let's say defiled a sacred place in israel they would have to cope with some tough guys there and would face difficulties from attempting to leave the country with or to for example they went to the caucuses and defaced

a muslim shrine security wouldn't have enough time to protect them from public anger nevertheless i don't think we should judge them too strictly on their own i hope they've made some important conclusions themselves anyway the final decision rests with the court. the trial continues here in moscow as public opinion is divided over what punishment if any should be handed down to the three women in the dock peter oliver r.t. moscow. now time for some other news making headlines around the world starting off with the london based bank standard chartered it's been accused by u.s. financial regulator of illegally scheming with enron to launder around two hundred fifty billion dollars it's claimed the bank at work were to run for over a decade hardly more than sixty thousand transactions from the authorities the banks now been officially branded a rogue institution that's yet to respond to the findings. torches of identify the man who shot dead six worshippers at a sikh temple in the u.s. state of wisconsin as wade michael page it was also revealed the forty year old who

was killed in a shootout with police was an army veteran pager was said to have held radical white supremacist views entered the temple on sunday morning and began firing incidents has caused outrage with sikhs in india the man in the u.s. do more to protect the people. more than one thousand six hundred people are said to be deported from greece in a massive crackdown against illegal immigrants a huge police operation over the weekend so around six thousand detained although the majority were later released the country's long been the main entry point into europe for those seeking a better life but the authorities claim the current economic situation makes that untenable. if life on the red planet exists it could well be found soon as the most sophisticated mars rover starts sending its first pictures after successfully landing on the surface it will spend two years there and could determine if it is possible to one day colonize the planet the only kalash from the russian academy of

cosmetics thinks the achievement is a breakthrough but there's still a lot of work to be done. the curiosity is there or the mission which will seek answers for the whole range of questions from whether there are conditions which could support life to. whether there is enough water. under the surface of mars and off or one of the major questions is whether the conditions on mars. adequate to hold some day a human mission to the red planet your city is a very complex machines it can see so far a hundred different systems including her dozens of for highly sophisticated instruments and. deal. with a program manager and are hundred percent certain that all of this instance are activated they will more or their curiosity to move an inch from the place where it

is now and all the old testings of systems and instruments are big from weeks to several months for do not expect to get anything from can your city any time soon then when of the next two or three weeks. business time we katie's the mystery surrounding the purchase of your property was made by a disgraced russian banker for the sonoma it was indeed a spare of ills and it was two hundred ninety million dollars in the purchases made last year but the reason why we didn't know who it was is because it was made through an offshore company but now the sunday times newspaper says the three said the old residents in the henry own times and also jay was sold to the ex head of bank of moscow today bought a day and now he moved to england in twenty ten now off to add his asians i have

a full claims prosecutors tried to extradite origin back to russia since mas. lots it looks like a different plans very nice and i can only dream of such a property let's go to the u.s. markets to see how they're getting on just now on wall street it were up and extending last week's dane's ready that sounds best to surprise his cool things diminished concern about europe's debt troubles on hold tuning sentiment you will see how they closed up. for the day now i talked about the halting sentiment not so much because german chancellor angela merkel how governments are apparently really saying to the same chill is the e.c.b. easy for me to find and that news is really helping to boost the mood on both sides of the pond as well is that we had greece and their creditors agreeing on the need to strengthen policy has to support so how is all of this affecting the common

currency to have a look at the exchange rates and with you that the euro is still managing to get even the sense you won twenty four zero as you can see just that now for the russian ruble they finished up higher the u.s. dollar on the year and is trading at the highest levels of the summer so far good news for holiday make it out of the russian market as you close up composed of characteristic to mirror what was happening pretty across the global markets in general because we had asia finishing up high as well and that was despite boyle having a challenging day but right now if we look at the oil prices we'll be able to see that they are hedge funds they would use the bush to all bets for the first time in three weeks that was before u.s. economic growth crude to its biggest day this june and that's what we're looking at just that ok now let's talk about the olympics that because we said this in london they were hoping to make a buck or two out of it out of the hustle and bustle people coming in getting something to wait but locals are avoiding it working from home why because they

don't want to get in a traffic jam now apparently as many as one of the whole of million of now one that makes traveling a lot easier the roads a lot clearer reset is there beginning to panic and you follow me he's got the details for us. before the olympics began many traders thought that these games would give them a timely boost in trading but unfortunately many have found themselves lagging behind that has been dropping custom and there are two main reasons people believe firstly the number of tourists have come to london is lower than expected and secondly around one and a half million people have decided to work from home and it's because they wanted to avoid any traffic chaos in the middle of london well this is affecting traders like emily hay who runs a sandwich shop he's been running one for the last two years but there's been a distinct lack of custom during lunch time periods what have you noticed during the olympics during the olympics where for would be really busy but actually it's

gone down like twenty five percent not many people around because enough tourists around all stay in stratford and a lot of people working from home that's why it really affected us i have to get rid of one of my staff because it's not that busy. really and what about fellow traders are they all saying a similar thing they're exactly the same all my neighbors i talk to them and they stay are complaining that it is really quiet at the moment is there anything that can be done i mean i know david cameron now is urging people perhaps to come into the city center to what can be done but. we're just hoping the olympics will finish by the next week so we get back to normal ok well thank you for your time and let's hope things pick up so it has to be said the lympics isn't entirely bad news seven billion pounds worth of business related contracts were generated by these games but just like the lympics in sport itself it pays that winners and losers have been created in the economy. ok that's it bill for me and the rest of the business team

arena causer of us will be here at eight twenty moscow morning time to give you a delay stop there is nothing to murray thing here thanks a lot katie you have a good rest busy day for you see you tomorrow now in a few minutes here on a cross talk debate on whether washington should reconsider its economic policies to see the middle class settle be out of the headlines in the coming up very shortly stay with us live this is r.t. in moscow.

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